by John Day, PLC Music Director
The popular cry of many artists is that “I will NOT compromise my artistic integrity for the masses!” And to the ears of an artist, the cry from those masses generally sounds something like, “Only give us what we want!” This tension holds true in both the secular and sacred realms. This is not a tension to be solved, but one to be healthily and humbly managed. And the point of this post is not to point fingers, or justify actions, but to validate and articulate tensions from both sides, because, there is and will forever be a tension between artist and audience with both parties sharing an equal yoke in the burden.
There are dangers on both ends of the tension, and both parties have significant contributing factors. As artists, part of who we are is creative and thrives on creating, and we can quickly tire from the “same ol’ same ol” when it comes to music that we play, songs we write, lighting looks that we program, or camera shots we take. There is even a quote from Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin from an interview he did with the Los Angeles Times in regards to the most famous rock and roll song ever that says, “I'd break out in hives if I had to sing Stairway to Heaven in every show. I wrote those lyrics and found that song to be of some importance and consequence in 1971, but 17 years later, I don't know. It's just not for me.” And to satisfy that creative desire and genuinely pursue how God has wired us, we start pushing new boundaries and abandoning the old. This desire negatively compounds when our audience starts calling for the old favorites, or pushes back against the new creative elements. The two temptations there are to dig the heels in, and stand our ground under the banner of “Artistic Integrity”, or the other extreme of scrapping our new projects seeking only the approval of our audience.
While the audience isn’t all artists, all artists are part of an audience, but often we don’t use that lens. I like a band because of a song they played, or an album they released, and when I go to their concert I really want to hear the music that draws me into that band. The positive reaction of an audience to artistic endeavors is what grows an artist’s ability to influence people, and often is what gives energy and motivation to continue creating. In the negative though, an audience can begin to feel entitled to demanding certain elements, such as hearing songs that they like or NOT hearing or seeing things they DON’T like, and begin to become bitter towards the artist if those expectation are not met. There is a report that fans of the British rock band Radiohead booed and jeered at a concert until the band gave in and played their hit song “Creep”. Why would an audience choose to attend something that will give them nothing of desired substance to interact with?
So, sweeping generalities aside, from my perspective there are both sides and both sides are right. And the balance is even more delicate in the setting of a corporate church. An arts’ ministry is there to serve the church and the congregation, and part of that is shepherding them through new acts of worship. And there is scripture that seems to support both sides. Psalm 33:3 says “Sing to him a new song, play skillfully and shout for joy”. New songs and skillful playing sound pretty appealing to the artists! In 1Corinthians 14:19, Paul says “But in the church, I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue.” That makes the case that in the church, the congregation should be presented with things that are accessible and understood by them.
Pastor Andy Stanley said it another way, that “You can make a point without making a difference.” And in the church, the goal of any ministry is for people to meet Jesus, worship Jesus and have their life changed by Jesus. The goal is to make a difference, for Jesus. Jesus works through new and creative elements, and opens people up to encounter Him in a new way. Jesus also works through meeting people in things they intuitively know and understand and already feel freedom to interact with.
As an artistic ministry, stewarding this tension, we must always use the final lens of Jesus getting the glory both from the people leading the ministry, as well as the congregation being able to freely worship Jesus through the service we give them.
